Friday, 11 November 2016

DHAL PURI ROTIThis is a recipe I've come to love. Be warned it is a production BUT it's well worth it.

SPLIT PEA (DHAL) FILLING:

2 cups of yellow split peas

2 cloves of garlic

1 tsp. of roasted cumin

1/4 tsp. of turmeric

1 tspn. of salt

Boil the yellow split peas in water for 15-20 minutes.

Skim off the foam that rises to the top. After about 20 minutes of boiling, start testing them by crushing a few of them with your fingers. (Be careful they will be hot). You will know they are ready when the outside can be crushed but they are not completely done. DO NOT COMPLETELY COOK THEM. They will finish cooking when they are in the dough balls.

When they are ready rinse them in cold water to stop them from cooking and let them sit in a strainer for about 20 - 25 minutes.

In a food processor combine the split peas with the garlic, cumin, turmeric, and salt until they are crumbly.

This filling can be frozen for future use.

BREAD:

3 1/4 cups of white unbleached flour

2 TBS. of baking powder

2 pinches of instant yeast (for softness, not leavening)

1/4 tsp. of salt

1 1/2 cups of water

oil for cooking

flour for dusting

Mix the baking powder, instant yeast and salt into the water and add the flour a little at a time. If the dough is to sticky add flour a little at a time. Knead it into a ball and let it sit for 15 minutes.

Cut into 12 pieces and roll into balls. If you have a metal pizza pan or a tawa proper, you can cut the dough into less but bigger balls to make bigger rotis. My skillet is about 10 1/2 inches and and I can get 12 good sized rotis out of it.

Pinch a ball into a bowl with your hands.

Put a good 2-3 spoonfuls of the split-pea mixture into the dough.

Use dabs of water to make sure it sticks together.

And seal it shut.

After the balls are filled, flatten them with your hands on a dusted, flat surface.

With a rolling pin roll it out flat.

Preheat a skillet to medium-medium high heat. Brush on oil or spray Pam in the skillet and place your first roti in the skillet.

Immediately brush on oil or spray Pam on the roti side facing up.

After about 15-20 seconds, flip it with a spatula and repeat. (After making this recipe a few times you will develop a feel for it.)

You should see the two sides of the roti separating and forming bubbles.

Friday, 5 February 2016

Trisha and I were toying around with the idea of Vietnamese spring rolls. So one evening we got together and did it. I took charge of the rolls and she the sauce. And I have to admit that her sauce pulled it all together. Luckily she wrote it down and let me blog it.